Louis Tomlinson’s biological father has been diagnosed with cancer just over a year after the death of his beloved mother Johannah Deakin from leukemia.
The One Direction singer, 26, was a surprise guest at The NHS Heroes Awards 2018 in London on Monday night, just as the news broke about his estranged father.
Troy Austin, 49, had a life-saving operation to remove a 1.5inch tumour from his liver last week, for which he praised the NHS in an interview earlier that evening.
'I’ve been crying tears of joy because I feel so lucky to have been given a second chance,' Troy told The Sun on Monday evening, 'Early diagnosis is everything.'
The 49-year-old blamed drinking, smoking and poor eating habits for the tumour, which he said gave him no symptoms and simply came to light through routine blood tests.
'Each day I was smoking up to 25 cigarettes and drinking six to eight cans of Tyskie, a Polish lager. And my diet was terrible. It was Chinese and Indian takeaways and a lot of chips.
'Some days I wouldn't eat at all but would just drink and smoke. I would drink to celebrate the good times and drink to cope with the bad. Whatever life threw at me I would drink. And there was stress.'
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Louis Tomlinson for additional comment.
On Monday, the Back to You hitmaker made a surprise appearance at the NHS Heroes Awards to present the Young Fund Raiser Award.
Louis surprised Manchester Arena survivor Freya Lewis, 15 - who lost her best friend during the bombing - after she raised £27,000 for the hospital that helped her recover following the attack.
The singer - who has not been pictures since March - took to the stage with Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh as the pair celebrated the young fan's impressive achievements.
The bombing - which took place during an Ariana Grande concert - saw a death toll of 23 and left 512 individuals with non-fatal injuries.
Louis' grandmother Tina - Troy's mother - died from a rare bone marrow cancer at the start of 2017, aged 67.
One Direction singer Louis, 26, was bereft when he lost his mother Johannah in December 2016 to a very aggressive form of leukemia, when she was only 46.
Louis' parents Troy and Johannah split in 1997, when he was aged just five and he has grown estranged from his biological father.
She then had four more children - Charlotte, Felicity and twins Phoebe and Daisy - with Mark Tomlinson, whose surname Louis uses, and whom he considers his real father.
Johannah and second husband Dan Deakin had twins Ernest and Doris in February 2014.
Louis himself has a two-year-old son with former flame Briana Jungwirth, and in the lead up to the birth Troy publicly extended an olive brand to Louis, in a bid to be a good grandparent.
He said at the time: 'I'd like to be involved in my grandchild's life. I've missed out on Louis' life and I'd like to make up for that. It's time to heal the rift.’
In July 2015, it was reported that Troy threatened to 'drop a bombshell' just to get his famous son's attention.
One month later, Troy was arrested by police in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, after officers allegedly discovered him trying to kill himself in a car after drinking alcohol.
Louis has retreated from the spotlight ever since becoming a father. His band One Direction went on hiatus in March 2015.
His mother's death came as a shock to many, including the singer himself, who was just launching his solo career.
Her passing was announced in a statement to MailOnline in December, reading: 'It is with immeasurable sadness that Johannah Deakin's family said goodbye to Johannah in the early hours of Wednesday 7th December 2016.'
'Earlier this year Johannah was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukemia that required immediate and continuous treatment.'
Louis was particularly close to his mother before her death.
He spoke of their close relationship many times, on one occasion revealing that when his mother split from her second husband in 2011 just as his career with One Direction was taking off, she would send him up to seven texts a day.
Admitting he was worried for his mum, who remained in the family's hometown of Doncaster, while he was travelling the world, Louis said: 'It must be so much harder for her because I am living this fantastic life, whereas she’s still in that old life but without me.
'She always says that I'm like one of her best friends so it must be really difficult for her to not get upset and not miss me so much, I'm so far away.'
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